


(my darling) what wonder have we wrought here

by peacefulboo



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: Children, F/M, Five Plus One, Fluff, Gift Fic, Pregnancy, Schmoop, Twins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-11-15 03:11:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18065480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peacefulboo/pseuds/peacefulboo
Summary: Five times Scott watches Tessa parent, plus one time she watches him.





	(my darling) what wonder have we wrought here

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all! Have some belated birthday fic. It's so fluffy it hurts. If you're diabetic, assume there are 100 carbohydrates in this and you need a lot of cover. The recipient requested twins, getting to watch Tessa parent through Scott's eyes, and I'm pretty sure she suggested the premise of each scene except maybe the 1st, but I've slept since then so she might have suggested that one. I had a lot of fun with this. I leaned hard into the schmoop since, let's face it, it's what we both wanted. 
> 
> Thanks to G and D (whose birthday is ACTUALLY today and who will be getting her birthday fic hella late as well. Oop.) for the quick betas. Y'all rock! 
> 
> Title is from Colin Meloy's "Baby Song" (titled Wonder on youtube) which I listened to on repeat while writing this. Which isn't a thing I typically do. **shrug** 
> 
> Anyway, I hope this brightens your day just a little. Let me know if you enjoyed it!

1.

He smiles as he watches her from his vantage point at the back door. She’s stretched out on a lounge chair on the the back porch, decked out in a white bikini and a wide brim straw hat, her hands rubbing her already prominent baby belly as she talks to her stomach. He can’t hear what she’s saying, but despite the shadow the hat is casting over her face, he can tell that she’s smiling. 

She had been so nervous when they first found out about the pregnancy. They weren’t trying, but they weren’t doing anything to prevent either. Her still irregular cycles meant that they didn’t find out about the pregnancy at all until a little later in the game than either of them would have liked and she was incredibly apprehensive when the doctor confirmed that she was, indeed, carrying his kid. 

Or kids, as it turns out. The thought still makes him pause and swallow hard. Tessa is carrying their twins, something they’d only found out at their twenty week appointment three weeks ago. If she had been nervous before, she’s downright worried now. He’s brought her out here to the cottage during a break in both their schedules in hopes that she can have some space to breathe and process the reality they both needed to come to terms with quick. The sun and the water and the big, open sky, seem to be just what she needs if her delighted laugh is anything to go by. 

She sucks in a breath in mild pain and he takes that as his cue to head outside with their drinks. “They kicking you again?” he asks as he sits next to her and places his hand on her belly. 

“Not too bad,” she says with a shy smile, still looking down at her stomach. “First kick in the ribs for today’s dance party,” she adds with a chuckle. 

The kids, at least one of which is a boy, and they’re fairly certain the other is, too, since the ultrasound only showed one placenta, have been super active the last month and change, and Scott finds that he loves very little more than to rest his hand against her belly and feel the nudges against his fingers. It doesn’t take long for him to feel the nudge once Tessa places his hand high on her belly, one of the right spots for today. 

“Hey buddy,” he says to the kid. 

Tessa smiles up at him and kisses his jaw before grabbing his other hand and placing it lower on her belly, so he can feel the other kid kick, too. It comes after a minute, though this movement is even fainter than the other. Scott presses back in an attempt to say hi and looks up when Tessa laughs as one of their babies nudges back against his hand. 

“He’s already got the high-five down,” she says with a contented smile. 

“Very advanced,” Scott agrees. 

2.

He isn’t sure if he’s ever seen her quite so undone. She’s pale and there are dark circles under her eyes. Her hair is a mess, and not artfully so, like she often manages, but today it’s a matted, frizzy birds’ nest. 

And yet, despite her obvious exhaustion and preoccupation, he can’t help but smile as he watches her with their babies. She’s got both of them latched on somehow, a nursing pillow designed specifically for twins tucked in around her as both of their six-day old boys rest on top, their heads close together as she holds them to her. Scott sees her wince, and suck in a breath as her nipples are still extremely tender, but then she sighs and starts whispering to them again. 

“You both were just hungry weren’t you, my babies,” she murmurs as her thumbs glide over their silky brown hair. “It’s so hard to be out here in the world where it’s cold and you need to fill up those bellies. You poor things.”

She’s been determined to feed them on her own and has been reassured by the experts that it won’t be a problem to try. The relief when her milk came in was one of the weirdest releases of tension Scott has felt. As much as he looks forward to a time when he can help feed the boys, he wanted this for her so badly, because _she_ wanted it so badly. 

The smile on her face as she looks down at them is everything for him. She’s so, so good with them. Scott hadn’t been worried about that part either, but he knows she’s been apprehensive. There was someone, long ago, who put a bug in her ear that she’d likely never be much of a nurturer - he’s never been able to find out who - but she took it to heart. And there have definitely been times when she hasn’t been much for nurturing anything but her own body and their partnership, but those days are long past, yet the ghost of those words have lingered and it’s heartbreaking to see their effect resonate in her still. 

“You’re such a good mom, T,” he rumbles out, voice rough with sleep. He reaches out from where he’s lying on his side and rubs the pads of his index finger over her knee. “They love you so much already,” he adds. 

She just hums in response, so he looks back up at her and sees a sad smile on her face. She’s killing him with her doubt. 

Scott sits up and tucks himself in beside her and the babies, his hand automatically threading through her hair at the back of her head so he can cup it and massage the tension away. “I know you’re so tired, Tess, and you feel like you’re constantly playing catch up. You feel out of your depth and so do I and we both hate that, but I know you do especially. But you love them so much and it shows in every choice you make, in how unbelievably patient you’ve been. How determined and diligent you’ve been, even when you can’t keep your eyes open. You’re amazing, love, and they know it, too,” he drops a kiss to her temple and then presses his forehead against it, willing what little energy his has into her. 

“I do love them, Scott,” she agrees as she nods her head and keeps staring down at their tiny faces. “So much,” she whispers out as if she’s not sure anyone will believe her.

Scott kisses her cheek and then leans back against the headboard to give her a little more space since he knows that with both newborns attached to her at the moment, his touch can be one person too many. 

He must fall asleep watching because the next thing he knows he hears Tessa hiss in discomfort and the bed jostle a little as she shifts. 

“I’ve got ‘em from here, T,” he says as he takes Eli, the one closest to him, and props him up against his shoulder to help him burp. 

“I’ll keep Liam till he burps,” she says. Scott looks up and sees that she’s got Liam tucked in the middle of her chest, just below her chin as she rubs her hand up and down his back. Her eyes are closed again already. 

Eli only takes a few minutes before he lets out a tiny belch, and then it’s only a minute more before Liam follows. Scott gets both boys changed and then sets them in the swivel bassinet specifically for twins that Jordan had bought them, and which Scott originally raised his eyebrows at, but that he now realizes is a fucking godsend since it allows both boys to sleep on either his or Tessa’s side of the bed (and realistically it will be on Tessa’s side of the bed for the time being since she’s the one who can feed them at the moment) and be within arms reach. By the time he’s got the boys settled, Tessa is already passed out, but he’s completely unsurprised that she’s got one hand extend out toward where they lay. Scott drops another kiss into her hair and then crawls into bed, hoping to get at least another hour of two before it’s time for them all to face the day. 

3.

_Any way you can come home?_

Liam has been sick the last few days, and Eli was looking pretty pale this morning when Scott hugged them all goodbye. Tessa doesn’t ask for Scott to come home. Ever. So he doesn’t even hesitate to sign out of his computer profile, stow away the paperwork he was working on and head for the door. The timing is good since Scott is just going over some paperwork at the rink after their lunch break, and there are three other coaches still in the building if he’s not able to make it back from home for his late afternoon session with his junior teams. 

He shoots her a text confirming he’ll be home in five minutes, then sends a second text to the other coaches letting them know he has a family emergency and will keep them updated on if he’ll need one of them to take his session. 

He’s tempted to call out for her when he slips inside the side door and strips out of his jacket and quickly slips off his shoes, but stops himself in case one or both of the boys are asleep. He quickly scans the great room and the playroom to make sure that his family isn’t downstairs and then softly jogs up the stairs and steps over the baby gate at the top, almost stepping on Eli’s stuffed bunny Bird which he scoops up with a frown because Eli has been extremely reluctant to part with his friend the last few months. A quick check of an empty boys’ room and guest bathroom have him heading to the master suite. As soon as he crosses into the space he can smell the stench of toddler vomit and sighs. 

He can hear Tessa’s low murmurs coming from the bathroom and almosts gasps when he sees her, sitting in the bathtub with both two-year-old boys sniffling and clinging to her, vomit dripping down her shoulders and in her hair. 

“Oh, T,” he says as he chuffs out a sympathetic laugh. 

“Help?” she says with a wrinkled nose and an exasperated smile. 

“Yeah,” he agrees as he pulls off his shirt, then reaches down to pull Eli into his arms. 

“No, Dadda, no,” the little boy cries as he tries to hold onto Tessa. 

It breaks Scott’s heart a little to pull him away from her but the quicker they get him off of her and they can all get stripped down and cleaned up, the better. 

“I’ve got you buddy,” Scott soothes as he holds his distraught and frankly disgusting son to him. “We’re gonna get you clean and and comfy and then we can all cuddle. With a trash can.”

“Mama,” he wails as Scott sets him on the far side of the tub and unzips the footy pajamas he’s still dressed in. 

“You’re okay, Eli,” Tessa tells him from where she’s now standing in the tub as she wrangles Liam’s pajamas off him, too. 

Liam starts wailing once she puts him down in the tub for a second so she can pull off her shirt and sweatpants, both streaked in the yuck. 

Once everyone is naked, Scott starts the water, keeping the boys out of the flow until it’s warm enough, and they all get washed off. The water soothes both boys, but once they’ve turned it off they’re both distraught all over as Scott holds them, bundled as they are in their towels, and Tessa slips into her robe and gets their pjs ready. Eli calms a little so Tessa takes a now sobbing Liam from Scott, gets him lotioned up and in his diaper and clean pjs and Scott makes quick work of doing the same for Eli. 

As soon as they all step back into the master bedroom, Tessa almost gags at the smell, so Scott leads his family downstairs and into the tv room, makes sure Tessa and the boys get settled on the couch, cuddled up on in blankets and large plastic bowls at hand to act as emesis basins if they’re needed again (and he’s pretty sure they’ll be needed again). 

The boys fall asleep cuddled into their Mama’s side and Scott takes a second to watch them as she soothingly rubs her fingers through their hair and then up and down their backs. Liam is still letting out the saddest shuddering sighs, even as his eyes flutter close and Tessa gives him a commiserating look as she kisses Liam’s forehead and continues to soothe the twins. 

“You gonna be okay down here for a bit?” he asks. 

“We’re okay. I think we’ve got a little bit of time before the next wave hits,” she says as she closes her eyes now that the exhaustion of the last few hours has kicked in. 

“I’m going to go start the laundry, get our room in order, maybe air it out again so we can camp out up there. Closer to the bathroom,” he tells. He scrunches his nose in mild disgust. 

“You need to get back to work, though.” 

“The rest of the team has it handled,” he tells her. “I’ve got you, T.”

He can see the tears spring to her eyes and he pads back to stand behind her at the couch, kissing her Spider-Man style when she lifts her mouth to him in thanks. 

“You always do,” is all she says. A pensive frown graces her lips and her eyebrows are drawn together. The look of uncertainty that he knows is about her and not him kills him. 

“You did everything right today, Tess,” he assures her. “No kids have ever been loved better by their mom than these two.”

“It was so gross, Scott,” she says after a few beats. 

“Disgusting, but you handled it like the champ you are.” He nods in commiseration and then leans down to kiss her again. 

“I know it’s something that we’ll need to talk about more later, but I’m not gestating anymore children,” she adds. “Kids are kinda gross. Adorable and so, so loveable but so gross.”

Part of her is joking, but as Scott looks into her eyes, he can tell that she’s also pretty serious about the thrust of the message. While there’s a small part of him that’s disappointed in thought of not having any more kids, he doesn’t think her conclusion is wrong. She’s also right that now isn’t the time and they’ll need to talk through what their family will look like in the future and how they’ll safeguard what they already have. 

“I love you,” is his verbal response. He means: I love all of you. The woman and the mother and all they places they intertwine and diverge. “I’ll be upstairs. Call me down if you need me.”

4\. 

Scott hasn’t seen his family in a week which is just about the upper limit for how long either of them are willing to go without being together these days. He knows from their FaceTime calls that Eli has been a little weepy and clingy, and Liam has been a bit of an angry pill the last few days and that it’s been raining non-stop, meaning Tessa has had to get super creative with how she helps the boys expend their energy. 

He got a hilariously adorable video from Kate that featured his family dancing around the living room, Liam and Tessa laughing their heads off as a five-year-old Eli attempts to do the worm. Both boys have a decent amount of rhythm for their age but neither are phenoms at any of the activities they’ve put them in, which Scott is grateful for. But they’re both very emotional kids, particularly when they’re bored or overtired and Scott knows how hard those emotional extremes can be to navigate when you have one sobbing and the other throwing a tantrum. 

He steels himself as he comes in the door, knowing that coming home to an idyllic welcome is unlikely given the trajectory of the previous week. 

No one is downstairs and he gets no answer when he calls up the stairs to say he’s home. He notes a curious path formed of towels that seems to lead from the back door to the downstairs bathroom and wonders what game they must have been playing this morning. He’s about to head upstairs anyway when he hears a faint shriek and a delighted laugh coming from the backyard. The sun is finally out today, but he never dreamed Tessa would take the boys out back after so much rain. The yard has to be a complete mess. 

And it is. 

Scott steps out onto the back porch, eyebrows raised and a look of disbelief on his face. 

Their mud-covered twins are passing a soccer ball back and forth between themselves when Liam gets sneaky and tries to slip the ball past Tessa. Because of the wet, muddy grass he’s almost successful. Except Tessa is nothing if not competitive and the boys are getting good enough that both parents have started trying a little harder when playing with the boys. Which Scott assumes is why, just as the ball is about to shoot past her, Tessa honest-to-god dives for the ball, batting it away as she lands in a particularly wet patch of mud, her entire right side, including part of her face and hair, now covered in the goop. 

The boys both freeze as they see their mom on the ground, more messy than they’ve probably ever seen her. Then Tessa erupts into a huge, gasping laugh and the boys follow after her with a torrent of gorgeous giggles that make Scott’s heart soar. 

Eli is the first to sink to his knees in front of her as he attempts to wipe a little of the mud off her face, only to transfer more from his hand to her forehead, which just makes both of them laugh even harder. 

“I can’t believe you did that, Mom!” Liam yells through his laughter. He’s now kneeling beside her, too, tugging on her arm in a weak attempt to help her up. 

“You two are getting too good for me to go easy on you,” she tells them with a shake of her head. It sends little bits of mud flying onto the boys which makes them crack up again. 

“But you dove into the mud!” Eli exclaimed, naked bewilderment at what Tessa was willing to do to keep them from scoring.

“He would have snuck it past me otherwise,” she answers as she runs her left hand through his muddy hair. 

“Competitive as always, T?” Scott calls out from where he’s leaning against the porch railing. 

“Dad!” both boys yell in unison as they push themselves off of Tessa and run up the steps to Scott. Luckily he’s in shorts and a t-shirt that will wash reasonably well because as they hug him he gets covered in mud, too.

“Gotta keep these two guessing,” she says with joyous smile from where she’s sitting. 

Scott hugs the boys to him but has to chastise them a bit, “You left your mom sitting in the mud. That’s not very gentlemanly of you,” he adds a wink at the end to let them know he’s not mad, but they immediately detach themselves from him and scramble over to help Tessa up. 

They have been trying to instill some sense of selflessness and compassion in the boys, while also teaching them that those they help are not weaker or lesser than them for needing or simply wanting the help. It’s a work in progress, but Scott can’t imagine raising boys who don’t do things like open doors for their mother, or help her up out of the mud, even if she’s completely capable of getting up on her own. 

He watches as the boys each take one of Tessa’s arms, falling into giggle fits all over when their hands slide on the mud, and “help” her up. Tessa pulls them to her in a happy hug and Scott can hear her telling them how close they got to beating her when she was giving it her all and how much they’ve improved over the last year and how very proud she is of them. Both boys smile shyly up at her, shrugging in response. 

Scott meets them at the bottom of the stairs and tells the boys to grab the garden hose, stand on the stone pathway, and get as much mud off of themselves as possible before they can go inside. 

“Really?” Eli asks, eyes wide. They never get to use the hose on their own. 

“Should I take it back?” Scott asks, already gathering Tessa to him, despite the mud. 

“Nope!” Liam says. “We’ll be good.”

Scott shrugs and leaves them to it. The yard is already a mess and a little more water from the hose is unlikely to do any damage that hasn’t already been done by the storms. 

“Hello, beautiful,” he murmurs into the cleaner side of Tessa’s hair as he hugs her tight. 

When she looks up at him her eyes are sparkling with mischief and just a little bit of something else, like fear or apprehension that Scott isn’t expecting. 

Tessa stretches up on her tiptoes to kiss him and he sighs into her mouth. Now he’s home. 

They get in another hug and a few more kisses before the boys start arguing over the hose and Scott decides it’s time to join in on the fun, so he makes the boys hand over the hose and immediately turns and sprays Tessa with it. She lets a tiny scream before shivering at the cold and then holding her hand out for the hose. He doesn’t even try to resist. 

The boys find all of this hilarious and the family doesn’t make it inside for another twenty minutes.

***  
Interlude: 

Later that night, the boys are finally asleep, having insisted on playing Sorry with their parents and then having Scott read them three chapters from the book they’ve been reading at bedtime. Liam falls asleep halfway through the third chapter but when Scott tries to stop, Eli gives him his most pathetic begging look and Scott agrees to finish the chapter, fully knowing he’ll need to read it again the next night. 

Tessa is already sitting up in bed when he makes his way into their room. She’s left her hair down, her natural waves fanning out around her since she let it air dry. Damn she’s beautiful. Still. Always. 

“I’m glad you’re home,” she tells him when he sinks onto the bed and twists so his head is in her lap. 

“Me, too,” he agrees. 

“I’ve been extremely irritated with you all week,” she admits. 

This is a surprise. She hadn’t let on that she’d been upset, but he’s been more focused on the boys during their video chats. What did he miss while he was distracted?

“Tell me?” he asks as he reaches up to cup her cheek. 

“Remember how I told you you were not to knock me up again?” she asks with a sheepish smile that reminds him so much of the looks on the boys’ faces earlier. Oh shit. 

“I knocked you up?” he says, shock and a little bit of awe coloring his voice. 

“You knocked me up,” she says with a nod and a little laugh. She already sounds tired. 

“Oh, T,” he says as he sits up and pulls her into a hug. 

She lets out a deep, shuddering sigh as he rubs his hands up and down her back in comfort. 

“I’m not entirely sure what to say here,” he admits. Sorry doesn’t work, mostly because while he was fully on the same page with her about not having more kids, he doesn’t find himself mad, or sad, or irritated about this pregnancy, though he does already feel exhausted thinking about going through the newborn phase all over again. But he can see that, jokes aside, Tessa is a little conflicted. 

“I was pretty upset at first,” she admits, sadness creeping into her voice. “And the boys were so intense the whole week and I’m already having a lot of nausea in the mornings and you were gone and it just seemed very overwhelming.”

“I am sad I wasn’t here for you when you found out,” he says as he kisses her shoulder. 

“I think now I’m glad you weren't. I was able to work through some of those initial emotions and not take it out on you. Hopefully I managed to keep from taking it out on the boys, too.”

“T, you don’t have to hide your harder emotions from me. I know this isn’t what you, or even I, were planning on. It’s okay if you don’t want this.”

“I’m already tired just thinking about it,” she admits. “But it’s not all bad things I’m feeling. Even from the start, there was fear and exhaustion and shock, but there was already some joy in there, too.” She has a tiny smile gracing her lips and Scott tips up her chin a little so he can look her more fully in the eyes. She’s telling the truth. Of course she is. 

“Yeah?” he asks. Cause he’s got the same mix of emotions running through him now, too. Fear, happiness, excitement, and the dreaded anticipation of all that tiredness. 

“Yeah,” she answers, her smile widening. 

Scott kisses her then, doing his best to pour all of his happiness and love and excitement into the kiss. He’s rewarded with an answering smile against his lips and then a hard smack against his bicep. 

“You knocked me up!”

/Interlude

5.

They had set the appointment for their family pictures months ago, before Tessa had a clue she was pregnant, and they’ve decided that they don’t necessarily want to hide her small bump in these pictures, which means it’s probably time to let the boys know what’s happening. Liam has been completely oblivious the last few months, but Eli has been giving her strange looks over the last few weeks since she officially “popped”. 

“Mom!” Liam calls as he rushes into the master bedroom, a deep green tie in one hand. He has a fitted gray vest on that matches his suit, all of which he picked out himself. Both boys enthusiastically enjoy shopping and dressing sharp as tacks. It’s more than a little baffling to Scott, but he finds he rather likes going with Tessa and the twins when they look for clothes because all of them are so stoked when they find things they like, and seeing his whole family happy makes Scott happy. 

“Yeah?” Tessa asks as she pokes her head out of their bathroom, her hair in curlers, dressing gown on. 

“I know we picked the navy tie yesterday because it goes good with Eli’s suit and your dress,” Liam pauses to take a breath and look at Scott, “And dad’s suit and tie.”

“But?” Tessa prompts. 

“But I had a dream last night and I think the green one is better,” Liam says with a shrug. 

Tessa peers at Liam, and then at the tie and then back at Liam’s face and nods. “It _will_ work better. Good choice!”

Liam fist pumps and then turns to head back to the boys’ room to finish getting dressed. 

Seconds later Eli comes calling, “Mom! Mom!” He has two hats in his hands, one is a dark grey, and Scott is pretty sure that was the one they had planned for yesterday, and the other is a kelly green. 

“Yes?” Tessa asks as she pokes her upper body out of the bathroom door again. 

“Should I go with the green or gray now that Liam’s wearing the other tie?” He’s got a worried expression on his face. 

“Which do you want to wear?” Tessa asks. 

Eli looks back and forth between the two choices. “I think,” he says, holding out the vowel in think as he continues to contemplate his options, “I think still the grey,” he decides with a quirked brow and pensive smile. 

“Excellent choice,” Tessa answers with a sharp nod. 

Eli nods back and then heads back to his room. 

“Would you have been okay if he picked the green one?” Scott asks, genuinely curious. 

“Of course. If it made him happy,” she answers as she steps back up to the mirror and finishes applying her makeup. 

“What if it was lime green, instead of kelly?” Scott asks. Over the years, he’s learned most of the names for colors. 

She grimaces at him in the mirror and shrugs, “Eli has never liked bright colors, but if they wanted to wear lime green accessories it wouldn’t be the end of the world.”

He believes her, though he knows she’s relieved it’s not a decision she has to make. 

 

They are taking their pictures like all middle class families these days, outside around sunset, with the fall colors all around. The twins are serious and goofy in turns and Scott is sure they’ll get some fun photos out of this session, but both he and Tessa are nervous about the next set. Scott catches Tessa’s eye and raises his brows in question. _Now?_

She nods in agreement and then signals the photographer to let her know to be ready. 

“Hey buds,” Scott says, voice serious enough to immediately grab the twins’ attention. 

Neither of their sons responds other than to look up at them in curiosity. 

“So your mom and I have something we’ve been wanting to tell you for awhile but we wanted it to be special. We think you’ll be excited, but it’s okay if you’re not at first,” Scott says. The twins have never asked for siblings, but they’ve never been vocal about rejecting the idea either. They each seem content to wander through life with just the other by their side. 

Tessa uses her hands to frame her belly and smiles gently down at the twins. Eli’s eyes get huge while Liam keeps looking up at Tessa’s face. “You’re going to have a little sister in a few months,” she tells them quietly. 

“What?” Liam exclaims, a smile already growing on his face. 

“Really?” Eli asks, with concern all over his face he reaches out toward Tessa’s belly. 

“Really, bud,” Scott answers as he puts his hand on his sons’ shoulders. 

“You’re not sick?” Eli asks for clarification. And it suddenly dawns on Scott just how attentive and pensive the younger twin has been for the last few weeks. Tessa’s been more tired than expected given that she’s firmly in the second trimester. Eli has picked up on that and been extra helpful and very, very cuddly, which Tessa noted but she’s been enjoying too much for either of them to look into it too deeply. 

“Oh, no, kiddo!” Tessa says as she hugs Eli to her. “I haven’t always been feeling too great because growing a baby can be a lot of work, but I’m fine. Did you think I was sick?”

“Kinda,” he whispers into her side and Scott’s heart breaks for his son. 

“Your mom is a rock star and is carrying your little sister inside her, but she’s healthy and doing so well,” Scott tells him as he taps his son’s cheek. He’ll have to talk to him more about why he didn’t come to them with his concerns but that’s for another time. 

“We get to be happy about this, right?” Liam asks as he looks up at his parents. 

“It’s very good news,” Scott confirms. 

“Yes!” Liam says with a little jump and his signature fist pump. “We get a sister!” he shouts enthusiastically. 

Scott looks down just in time to see Eli look up at Tessa, tears shining in his eyes before he presses a kiss to his mom’s belly and smiles. 

“We always wanted a sister,” Eli tells them with a wry smile.

“You never told us that, buddy,” Tessa says as she looks up at Scott. Both boys are crowded around her -- still fairly small -- baby bump, hands and lips close as they talk to the baby. They’ve seen their cousins do it with their pregnant moms so Scott figures they just think it’s normal behavior. And it is, but they’ll have to have another talk about asking permission first in the future. 

“You said you weren’t going to have more kids,” Liam says with a shrug, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. 

“Sometimes plans change,” Tessa says as she squats down so she’s eye-level with the boys and hugs them to her. “And I’m so happy you’re excited about her.” She presses kisses to each of their cheeks. “We love you both so much. Don’t ever doubt that.”

+1

Tessa creeps downstairs once she notes that none of her family remain in their rooms, baby Claire Marie included. It’s been an exhausting few months, as expected, but it’s been going better than any of them had hoped. After twins, having a singleton is, maybe not easy, but easier. The boys are actually helpful, fetching things when needed and they’re doing pretty well at keeping themselves entertained while their parents are in zombie mode. They still get up to mischief but they’re sweet and kind and they love their baby sister more than they had any right to expect two energetic little boys to do. 

Tessa smiles when she sees that they’re all cuddled up on the love seat in the family room. Scott has Claire laid out on his lap and both boys are leaning in so they can take turns talking to her as they try to make her smile. 

“Hey Claire-bug,” Scott murmurs. “Where’s that smile, baby girl? Where’d it go?” 

Claire is a chill baby, but also very serious. She looks pensive and a little concerned ninety-percent of the time, so it can be difficult to coax a smile from her, but if anyone can, it’s those three boys on the couch, loving her to death. 

Scott runs a finger over her cheek and chin and she shivers in response, before staring up at him and grinning. 

“There you go, Claire! You smiled!” Eli says in the sing-song way the boys have adopted when talking to the baby. “You did it!”

Liam leans in and kisses his sister’s cheek, then Eli does the same. The boys seem to be done with the game at this point and they wander back to the table to finish the toast and eggs that Scott must have had made them earlier. 

Tessa continues to watch Scott as he talks to Claire some more. The baby has grabbed onto his index fingers with each of her hands and he’s pulling her up as she clings to him, letting out sweet little coos as she lifts just off his thighs and is gently lowered back down. 

“Look at how strong you are, Bug! So very strong,” he tells her as he leans down and kisses her nose.

Claire promptly sneezes on him and Scott laughs, “Whoa. That was a big sneeze, Kiddo. So big!” 

Tessa loves watching him with her. Of course he was great with the boys and she definitely fell more in love with him as she watched him care for them in those early days, as he continues to care for them still, but he’s so sure with Claire. There’s little hesitance and all competence now, even when there may be doubt, and it’s a good look on him. So she pads over to the couch to sit with them. 

Scott looks up at her as she sinks into the cushion next to him, “Morning,” he whispers as she tucks her head against his shoulder and reaches out to run her finger down the side of Claire’s face. 

“Morning,” she replies, voice low and raspy and still very heavy with sleep. “Thanks for getting up with them,” she tells him as she kisses his shoulder. 

“You were actually able to get more sleep this time, yeah?” he asks. 

Tessa nods against his shoulder in response. Two extra hours are such a gift. 

“I fed her about an hour ago, so if you want to close your eyes again, you can,” he says. 

“I’m good,” she replies. “I’ll just sit here with you all if that’s okay.”

“It’s more than okay, T,” he replies as he sits back into the cushions and pulls Claire up to his chest so her face is next to Tessa’s on his shoulder. 

Tessa drops a sleepy kiss on her daughter’s cheek and then sits back to listen as the boys come back over to the couch, cuddling in on either side of their mom, and tell her all about their plans for the weekend.


End file.
